Invalid votes doubled in 2022 general election from 2017, with countless voters spoiling their ballots when they went to the polls. 

According to figures published by the electoral commission, the number of invalid votes stood at 8,802, up from 4,031 in 2017. In every election prior, the number of invalid votes never exceeded the figure recorded in 2017. 

While there would have been several invalid votes because of people inputting their preferences incorrectly, the massive increase hints that countless voters spoiled their votes this around. 

An artistically drawn caricature has already been making the rounds online, but eagle-eyed viewers picked out a few other gems during the counting process.

“Fuck Off,” one voter wrote on their ballot.

Voter apathy and disenfranchisement characterised the election campaign, with the country recording the lowest voter turnout since 1955. 

Both the Labour Party and PN lost thousands of votes in the 2022 general election, official figures show. But a larger exodus of Nationalist Voters tipped the scales supremely in the ruling party’s favour.

Figures from the electoral commission show that the PL received 162,707 first count votes in 2022, roughly 8,000 less than the 170,976 votes it received in 2017.

The PN lost roughly 12,000 first count votes this time around, receiving 123,233 in 2022 compared to 135,696 in 2017.

What do you think of the figure?